Transition From The Glide Phase To Free Swimming Following A Freestyle Flip Turn

Abstract

Flip turns have become a crucial determinate in the outcome of a swimming competition, constituting up to one third of the total event time in some event distances. Recent studies suggest that there is “an optimal” relationship between glide distance, kick resumption speed, vertical rise path, and stroke resumption velocity. However, these articles make no mention about the form of transition from gliding or kicking to stroke resumption (defined as the initial movement of the hand from the glide position). PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between total swim time and three forms of stroke resumption initiation: pull with the deep arm, pull with the shallow arm, or be completely prone before pulling with either arm. It was hypothesized that the faster swimmers would tend pull with the deep arm and the slower swimmers would pull with their shallow arm or from a prone position. METHODS Male and female high school (HS) and masters (M) swimmers were videotaped while competing in short course 100 m (M), 100 yd (HS) and 500 yd (HS) freestyle events during public swim meets. Swimmers were coded according to the form of transition they used to resume free swimming following a flip turn. Final event times were recorded, and divided into thirds from fastest to slowest. Within each group of times the percentages of the forms of transitions used by the swimmers were calculated. Chi-square analyses were performed to determine if there were significant differences in percentages across groups (p < .05). RESULTS There was a significant difference in the form of transition used between groups in the HS female 100, M female 100, and M male 100. These results supported the hypothesis with the faster swimmers tending to use the deep arm and the slower swimmers tending to use the shallow arm off the walls. There were no significant differences in the form of transition used between groups in the HS female 500, HS male 500, or HS male 100 (although in the HS male 100 there was a non-significant trend supporting the hypothesis). CONCLUSION The 100 free may be more sensitive to the different forms of transition used than the 500. Reasons for this difference may include the overall ability of the swimmer to generate force during the arm pull, or perhaps the increased level of precision that is often associated with sprint events. Further investigation will focus on the total force being produced by the dominant hand in each of the forms of transition.